Wednesday 8thSeptember 2010 – morning
As I write this hubby is away at the gym and while impressed with his enthusiasm and desire to stay fit and fight the flab I have decided this morning that it would be rude to leave my warm bed whilst looking out at the very very calm sea.
Last night was so calm, you would never have known you were at sea. The Captains log quite aptly described the sea conditions as “calm with wavelets” – I love that description, wavelets, something that I would like to be able to describe about my hair but have alas thus far failed to achieve. This morning there is a brisk breeze out on the deck and I note that none of the deck chairs have been put down nor do they have the chair cushions on them, I suspect that only the very hardy would attempt to sit out and watch the sea today. Perhaps it may warm up later but I highly doubt it. The weather forecast today is a high of 18 degrees and with the prevailing breeze across the deck I doubt it will be bikini weather unless of course that is you hail from Iceland. There is also a chance of showers so I think that indoor activities are very much on the agenda today. According to Ray (the cruise director on the TV this morning) there are a host of activities including water color painting, a RADA presentation of “The Spotted Handkerchief” (an hour long version of Shakespeare’s Othello), a Baggo tournament (??), lots of trivia quizzes in the Golden Lion, Line Dancing with Gun (remember her?), bingo, poolside music with my favourite band Vibz (might be a bit chilly but a great way to warm up), gosh so much going on today and too much to list it all here but I think I may have found the perfect activity for myself – “Martini Mixology” which speaks for itself really – I can learn to make the perfect Martini and serve one up to my mother in law when we next meet up – I just know she will be highly appreciative of my attempts and will go down trying in my attempt to make her the perfect cocktail!
Later………
Now up and about and took a browse through the ship, mainly along deck 3, browsing the shops. Hubby treated himself to a new dress shirt, originally he was going to purchase the dress shirt buttons as he continues to lose them on a daily basis but instead opted for a shirt with dress buttons already in place – et voila, less grief when getting dressed! (happy hubby)
Hubby and I also popped along to the gym to chat with the gym director in order to assist another cruise critic member with making sure she has the perfect bod when she comes back on the ship again later this year! He did explain that he has been having email problems, and I’ve passed along the email address again and he will attempt to keep sending the fitness schedule – hopefully our fellow cc’er will get a response shortly (Susan, it’s now up to you – once you’ve received the email you’ve been waiting for, do us proud!)
We’ve picked up a coffee from Sir Samuels and have made our way to the deck and are sitting out of the breeze and feel quite ok. All deck chairs are now covered with cushions and a few hardy souls are sitting to port and starboard side of the ship taking in the sea air. It’s perfect on the grills deck as you really are sheltered against the wind. There are even a few hardy souls on the deck in swim suits (speedo variety) trying to get a hint of a tan when the sun occasionally pops its head out from behind a cloud. (brrrr………)
Today is Rosh Hashanah which I understand is a high Jewish holiday. To celebrate on board there will be a Rosh Hashanah evening service followed by a dinner in the Winter Gardens which I understand will be attended by at least 150 people. So to all of you that are celebrating Rosh Hashanah have a wonderful evening. (actually, note to self, must find out exactly what Rosh Hashanah is all about once the internet is up and running again – keeps crashing at the moment but gladly welcome any input from those in the know)
Thoughts so far of our cruise on the QM2 as today is a quiet sea day.
Staff – absolutely amazing, friendly, polite and welcoming. Very hard working and it constantly amazes me that they can maintain a cheerful exterior while working so hard to make this a wonderful cruise. Especially to those souls who work in the background, the chefs, the people in the launderette (who have done an amazing job of making sure I never see a washing machine or hold an iron once on our holiday. The pot washers, the cleaners who work at night when we’re all tucked up in bed to make sure the ship is spick and span for when we deign to come out of our beds. To the stewards and the butler who keep our room amazingly clean, stockpiled with our favourite beverages and toiletries and ensure that I don’t have to make up a bed at all while we’re here, and of course the turndown service. I must say, I had noted on our last cruise at Christmas that the bed in our PG room was lumpy and uncomfortable. This time it is a struggle to get out of bed in the morning as the beds are wonderful, no lumps, no bumps and no complaints from me.
Dining – the food has overall been of an excellent quality – especially the Chateaubriand (melt in the mouth delicious – and I’m not a fan of steak at all!) We have gone so far as to order it for dinner tonight again, I’m determined that we enjoy our favourite foods wherever possible. If you’re coming on a cruise in the future and have the opportunity to order it I can’t recommend this highly enough. They also do beef wellington to order, but so far we have not gone for that (hubby makes a mean beef wellington which I can ‘order up’ anytime I want at home - yup, I’m spoiled). The only disappointing meal so far (for me) was the pheasant which I had explained was quite dry and salty – but, we’ve tried it so that was a bonus for us.
Tonight is formal night, so I feel a kip coming on later just to make sure we can enjoy to the full and not be asleep by 10 which is the norm for us – no staying power whatsoever! In fact the out-laws outdid us constantly on the Christmas cruise and continued to show us up with their staying power. I feel a trip to the casino coming on – will I be lucky again? Who knows. I’d like to think that lady luck will shine on us - god knows my husband could do with some. If I lose I will be cheerful and know that I had another brilliant night – black jack is a 50/50 game of skill and luck – I put my winnings thus far down to pure skill (mixed with a helping hand from lady luck).
*yawn* it’s hard work doing nothing, why do I feel as though each and every day has been a labour of love when in fact we have done barely anything to exhaust ourselves. Will my boss be accepting of the fact that each afternoon at approximately 3 pm I will feel the need for an afternoon kip, followed by a coffee delivery and canapés – will he accommodate me? Hmmmm……. I think not – but it may be worth a try (just the once to see his reaction) fortunately for me he has a sense of humour so I may be able to try it on.
Mixology class *hic*
Hubby and I have just attended the mixology class - a martini mixology class and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves *hic*.
We started off with the classic martini – believe it or not I’ve never had a classic martini and the history behind them is fascinating – but moving swiftly on (before I forget everything we’ve just been told)…. This was followed up by a strawberry citrus martini, which was also delicious but DANGEROUS. Then followed both my husbands and my favourite drink (yes, hubby is now a fan of cosmo’s but wonders if they come in another color so as to look more manly). The Ginger cosmo. Cosmo’s should be pink (not red) and ours came with fresh ginger crushed in with lemon juice. First we tried this straight up, then followed a twist on the modern cosmo. Taking a dollar coin sized piece of orange peel, gently squeeze to release the oils inside the orange juice and hold over your drink. Take a lighter and holding the peel over the drink so as to infuse with the alcohol fumes coming off the drink , set light to the orange peel and et voila, the oil and the fumes ignite and quickly dissipate leaving a lovely smoky citrus flavor to the drink. I’m sure this could be an addition to any alcoholic drink – so if you hear of a fire breaking out in room 9048 you’ll know that the Cornelli’s have been practicing with the remnants of our fruit bowl. I will be the one at the Commodores cocktails tonight with singed eyebrows. The cosmo was followed by a molecular fashion martini, for the martini purists out there this may not be your cup of tea, but the QM2 is proud to announce that [currently] they are the only cruise ship to serve this particular brand of drink – I’m sure it won’t be long before it catches on elsewhere. Must say a massive shout out to Sheldon who’s a barman in the QG Lounge and was up in the Commodore club for this afternoon’s mixology. He’s real Star on the QM2 and goes way out of his way to invent new and exciting drinks for me. In fact I’d go as far as to say his talents are wasted on the QM2…He’s the one on the right…
Now a bath beckons, alas it is 4.30 *hic* and I have no time for an afternoon kip as we are off to the Queens Room for cocktails with the Commodore, we didn’t go on Monday and felt it would be rude not to show twice on the trot. Justin has run me a nice deep bath which will hopefully sober me up a wee bit in order to be able to walk a steady line along the corridor to the evening’s events.
Tomorrow we arrive in Quebec and have promised ourselves an early start, so no more martini’s for me tonight and we promise to be back to update you with details of our trip into Quebec tomorrow.
As I write this hubby is away at the gym and while impressed with his enthusiasm and desire to stay fit and fight the flab I have decided this morning that it would be rude to leave my warm bed whilst looking out at the very very calm sea.
Last night was so calm, you would never have known you were at sea. The Captains log quite aptly described the sea conditions as “calm with wavelets” – I love that description, wavelets, something that I would like to be able to describe about my hair but have alas thus far failed to achieve. This morning there is a brisk breeze out on the deck and I note that none of the deck chairs have been put down nor do they have the chair cushions on them, I suspect that only the very hardy would attempt to sit out and watch the sea today. Perhaps it may warm up later but I highly doubt it. The weather forecast today is a high of 18 degrees and with the prevailing breeze across the deck I doubt it will be bikini weather unless of course that is you hail from Iceland. There is also a chance of showers so I think that indoor activities are very much on the agenda today. According to Ray (the cruise director on the TV this morning) there are a host of activities including water color painting, a RADA presentation of “The Spotted Handkerchief” (an hour long version of Shakespeare’s Othello), a Baggo tournament (??), lots of trivia quizzes in the Golden Lion, Line Dancing with Gun (remember her?), bingo, poolside music with my favourite band Vibz (might be a bit chilly but a great way to warm up), gosh so much going on today and too much to list it all here but I think I may have found the perfect activity for myself – “Martini Mixology” which speaks for itself really – I can learn to make the perfect Martini and serve one up to my mother in law when we next meet up – I just know she will be highly appreciative of my attempts and will go down trying in my attempt to make her the perfect cocktail!
Later………
Now up and about and took a browse through the ship, mainly along deck 3, browsing the shops. Hubby treated himself to a new dress shirt, originally he was going to purchase the dress shirt buttons as he continues to lose them on a daily basis but instead opted for a shirt with dress buttons already in place – et voila, less grief when getting dressed! (happy hubby)
Hubby and I also popped along to the gym to chat with the gym director in order to assist another cruise critic member with making sure she has the perfect bod when she comes back on the ship again later this year! He did explain that he has been having email problems, and I’ve passed along the email address again and he will attempt to keep sending the fitness schedule – hopefully our fellow cc’er will get a response shortly (Susan, it’s now up to you – once you’ve received the email you’ve been waiting for, do us proud!)
We’ve picked up a coffee from Sir Samuels and have made our way to the deck and are sitting out of the breeze and feel quite ok. All deck chairs are now covered with cushions and a few hardy souls are sitting to port and starboard side of the ship taking in the sea air. It’s perfect on the grills deck as you really are sheltered against the wind. There are even a few hardy souls on the deck in swim suits (speedo variety) trying to get a hint of a tan when the sun occasionally pops its head out from behind a cloud. (brrrr………)
Today is Rosh Hashanah which I understand is a high Jewish holiday. To celebrate on board there will be a Rosh Hashanah evening service followed by a dinner in the Winter Gardens which I understand will be attended by at least 150 people. So to all of you that are celebrating Rosh Hashanah have a wonderful evening. (actually, note to self, must find out exactly what Rosh Hashanah is all about once the internet is up and running again – keeps crashing at the moment but gladly welcome any input from those in the know)
Thoughts so far of our cruise on the QM2 as today is a quiet sea day.
Staff – absolutely amazing, friendly, polite and welcoming. Very hard working and it constantly amazes me that they can maintain a cheerful exterior while working so hard to make this a wonderful cruise. Especially to those souls who work in the background, the chefs, the people in the launderette (who have done an amazing job of making sure I never see a washing machine or hold an iron once on our holiday. The pot washers, the cleaners who work at night when we’re all tucked up in bed to make sure the ship is spick and span for when we deign to come out of our beds. To the stewards and the butler who keep our room amazingly clean, stockpiled with our favourite beverages and toiletries and ensure that I don’t have to make up a bed at all while we’re here, and of course the turndown service. I must say, I had noted on our last cruise at Christmas that the bed in our PG room was lumpy and uncomfortable. This time it is a struggle to get out of bed in the morning as the beds are wonderful, no lumps, no bumps and no complaints from me.
Dining – the food has overall been of an excellent quality – especially the Chateaubriand (melt in the mouth delicious – and I’m not a fan of steak at all!) We have gone so far as to order it for dinner tonight again, I’m determined that we enjoy our favourite foods wherever possible. If you’re coming on a cruise in the future and have the opportunity to order it I can’t recommend this highly enough. They also do beef wellington to order, but so far we have not gone for that (hubby makes a mean beef wellington which I can ‘order up’ anytime I want at home - yup, I’m spoiled). The only disappointing meal so far (for me) was the pheasant which I had explained was quite dry and salty – but, we’ve tried it so that was a bonus for us.
Tonight is formal night, so I feel a kip coming on later just to make sure we can enjoy to the full and not be asleep by 10 which is the norm for us – no staying power whatsoever! In fact the out-laws outdid us constantly on the Christmas cruise and continued to show us up with their staying power. I feel a trip to the casino coming on – will I be lucky again? Who knows. I’d like to think that lady luck will shine on us - god knows my husband could do with some. If I lose I will be cheerful and know that I had another brilliant night – black jack is a 50/50 game of skill and luck – I put my winnings thus far down to pure skill (mixed with a helping hand from lady luck).
*yawn* it’s hard work doing nothing, why do I feel as though each and every day has been a labour of love when in fact we have done barely anything to exhaust ourselves. Will my boss be accepting of the fact that each afternoon at approximately 3 pm I will feel the need for an afternoon kip, followed by a coffee delivery and canapés – will he accommodate me? Hmmmm……. I think not – but it may be worth a try (just the once to see his reaction) fortunately for me he has a sense of humour so I may be able to try it on.
Mixology class *hic*
Hubby and I have just attended the mixology class - a martini mixology class and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves *hic*.
We started off with the classic martini – believe it or not I’ve never had a classic martini and the history behind them is fascinating – but moving swiftly on (before I forget everything we’ve just been told)…. This was followed up by a strawberry citrus martini, which was also delicious but DANGEROUS. Then followed both my husbands and my favourite drink (yes, hubby is now a fan of cosmo’s but wonders if they come in another color so as to look more manly). The Ginger cosmo. Cosmo’s should be pink (not red) and ours came with fresh ginger crushed in with lemon juice. First we tried this straight up, then followed a twist on the modern cosmo. Taking a dollar coin sized piece of orange peel, gently squeeze to release the oils inside the orange juice and hold over your drink. Take a lighter and holding the peel over the drink so as to infuse with the alcohol fumes coming off the drink , set light to the orange peel and et voila, the oil and the fumes ignite and quickly dissipate leaving a lovely smoky citrus flavor to the drink. I’m sure this could be an addition to any alcoholic drink – so if you hear of a fire breaking out in room 9048 you’ll know that the Cornelli’s have been practicing with the remnants of our fruit bowl. I will be the one at the Commodores cocktails tonight with singed eyebrows. The cosmo was followed by a molecular fashion martini, for the martini purists out there this may not be your cup of tea, but the QM2 is proud to announce that [currently] they are the only cruise ship to serve this particular brand of drink – I’m sure it won’t be long before it catches on elsewhere. Must say a massive shout out to Sheldon who’s a barman in the QG Lounge and was up in the Commodore club for this afternoon’s mixology. He’s real Star on the QM2 and goes way out of his way to invent new and exciting drinks for me. In fact I’d go as far as to say his talents are wasted on the QM2…He’s the one on the right…
Now a bath beckons, alas it is 4.30 *hic* and I have no time for an afternoon kip as we are off to the Queens Room for cocktails with the Commodore, we didn’t go on Monday and felt it would be rude not to show twice on the trot. Justin has run me a nice deep bath which will hopefully sober me up a wee bit in order to be able to walk a steady line along the corridor to the evening’s events.
Tomorrow we arrive in Quebec and have promised ourselves an early start, so no more martini’s for me tonight and we promise to be back to update you with details of our trip into Quebec tomorrow.
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